Front Runners - How It All Began

by Bud Budlong

Lavender U. By the Fall of 1973, a new concept in education
had swept the country, "free universities," which existed as
free newspapers that listed classes for all things, such as art,
literature, crafts, photography and of course, "new age"
subjects as TM, TA, EST, yoga and meditation. Heretofore, most
classes were associated with established institutions, such as
colleges and churches. A group of gays in San Francisco decided to
start such a free newspaper and call it "Lavender
U". The organizers hoped that it would foster social and
educational opportunities of special interest to gays. The paper was
published every two months. As I recall, the fee was $6.00 per ad.

Jack and Gardner. Jack Baker and Gardner Pond were friends
of the Lavender U organizers and were asked to list a
class. They had an interest in furniture refinishing and decided to
list a class in that. They were also runners, and at the last minute,
decided to change their ad to a "learn to jog" calss. As
members of the San Francisco, Dolphin, South End (SFDSE) Runners, one
of the largest running clubs in the country, they modeled their
"class" on that club, which had a "scenic run"
every Sunday. They listed a two-month schedule of runs, beginning with
a half mile, adding a half mile each week and finishing with a five
mile run on "grduation" week.

The First Run. The first run was on the first Sunday in
January, 1974. It began near the South Windmill in Golden Gate
Park. Each week, the run was at a different "scenic"
location. When it came time to renew the ad (they hadn't planned
ahead), they simply began the series over again. After repeating it a
few times, they settled into a routine of listing a variety of
three-to-five mile runs. For the first couple of years, the ad listed
a fee of $2.00 for each series of runs, but they never bothered to
collect. At some point that first year, the listing changed from
"learn to jog" to "Lavender U Joggers". Some of
the early runs were Golden Gate Bridge, Portals of the Past, Stern
Grove, Miracle Mile (Folsom Street), Aquatic Park, Palace of the
Legion of Honor, Lands End, Dolores Park, and of course Stow
Lake. Every Sunday, Jack brought a gallon of coffee. Once a month
Jack or Gardner would bring doughnuts.

Bud Joins. I joined the group in October, 1975 at the Golden
Gate Bridge run. Weekly attendance varied from five or six to 15 to 18
out of a total of 45 or so "members". Lesbian runners were
few and far between (an issue the club continued to struggle with for
years). During Spring and Summer of 1976, Jack and Gardner
increasingly asked me to schedule and lead the runs. By the end of the
year, I was the club leader by default. I soon expanded the
repertoire of runs. Eventually, we had 26 "scenic" runs,
which repeated twice each year. The group gradually grew in numbers,
attracting up to 30 runners at a time. The monthly "tailgate
brunch" became routine, with many runners contributing to an
increasingly healthy repast. Coffee gave way to fruit juice;
doughnuts gave way to trail mix. Occasionally, a group of us would go
to a restaurant after the run for a real brunch.

Unique Role. The club played a unique role in the community
at that time. In the early 70s, there were only a handfull of gay
organizations: the gay pool, bowling and softball leagues, Gay Rap and
the royal courts, to name a few. There were few gay activities that
were not centered around the bars. There were no gay hiking clubs,
track, swimming, skiing, wrestly, bicycling or tennis clubs, bands,
choruses, theater groups. For many, the Lavender U Joggers was their
first gay group they had joined. For more than a few, it was their
first experience knowing and being around other gays. Although many
exchanged their full names, many others revealed only first names -
there was no membership list. In 1978, the club first staffed a water
table at the San Francisco Marathon.

Lavender U's Demise. By the Summer of 1978, Lavender U
newspaper had gone out of business. Not only did the club need a new
way to publish the schedule of runs, but it occurred to me (I'm a slow
learner) that it was not good for any group to be dependent on one
person. The regulars all agreed that we should re-organize and have
paying members, elected officers and bylaws.

Reinventing Ourselves. There was consensus that the club
should be a "running club", with other activities secondary,
that it should be welcoming to runners of all abilities, from
beginners to serious competitors, that it should serve not only gays
and lesbians, but be open to all who wanted to join, including
those who could not (or would not) pay. Remember, many gays at that
time would not join an organization, because they were fearful of
revealing their names, We modeled ourselves on the many straight
running clubs in the city, especially SFDSE and Pamakids (yes, it
means Pa, Ma and the Kids). We wanted to join the Amateur Athletic
Union (AAU), which controlled amateur running at that time, and put on
and participate in road races. We held many organizational meetings
throughout the Fall of 1978 at Gary May's house. Many members wanted
to change the name of the club, not only because Lavender U had ceased
to exist, but because many did not like the word
"joggers". We voted on "Front Runners" at the
second or third meeting. Half the people who came to those meetings
swear that the name was their idea. They are all correct; quite a few
people suggested it. Yes it was inspired by Patricia Nell Warren's
novel, and no, we did not ask her permission - it never occurred
to us to ask. We had a nominations committee and a bylaws committee
and established the dues at $5.00 per year. The officers were to be
elected at the first meeting in January, 1979. The first two
newsletters were published in December, 1978 and January, 1979. They
contained mostly information about joining and voting. About 40 paid
their dues and became "charter members". All but three or
four listed their full names and addresses in the membership
directory, a brave showing for that time, which surprised us all. It
was the first time that many of us knew each other's full names. By
the end of 1979, there were 75 members.

The First Officers. The first elected officers were Gary
May, President; (Ms) Pat Stein, Vice President; Marvin Shipley,
Secretary and Frank Churchill, Treasurer. We joined the AAU (first gay
club of any sport to do so) and Pat went regularly to their meetings
as our delegate. Club meetings were held monthly at first, but
bi-monthly, soon after.

The First Gay Run. The 1980 officers were Bob Plantz,
President; George Fischer, Vice President; Greg Dunning, Secretary and
Jim Milton, Treasurer. The club name appeared on the 1980 T-shirt as
FrontRunners (one word), which became the club's "official"
name thereafter. The Advocate magazine approached the club and
asked if we would put on a race, which they would sponsor, and call it
"Gay Run". After much discussion about affiliating with a
sponsor, the members decided to do it. There were 5K and 10K runs,
with awards for women and men in four or five age categories. It was a
great success; about 400 runners entered.

The First "Other" Front Runner Club. In the Spring
of 1980, Bob Plantz got a call from Malcolm Robinson, who was editor
of the club magazine for the New York Roadrunners (a huge club, with
about six or seven thousand members). It is the club that puts on the
New York Marathon. Malcolm said that he was starting a gay running
club and wanted to call it Front Runners New York. He asked for
permission to use the name. Bob explained that we did not control the
name, and yes, it was OK. Malcolm was a nationally-rated runner and he
knew many other top runners who were gay. He wanted to have these top
runners enter (and win) major races as members of a gay club. He liked
the way that our club welcomed all runners, and discarded the idea of
forming a club for elite runners. Other FrontRunner clubs formed in
rapid succession.

Gay Pride. I am proud to have played a role in the early
developement of the FrontRunners. I am proud of all of the members,
officers, committee members and volunteers - of all Front Runner clubs
- who have worked so hard over the years to make the clubs what they
are today. And what are they? The answer has been the same since the
days of the Lavender U Joggers. Each club is a place to run for fun or
fitness, a place to compete or not compete, a place to brunch, a place
to look for a lover, a safe place to meet and be with spirited gays
and lesbians of wide diversity and a place to find or be
oneself. CONGRATULATIONS to all the Front Runner clubs (no matter how
you spell your name) for continuing to provide our community with a
comfortable place to participate in running, walking, and
socializing.